News Release

Contact: Michael G. Gaffney, APR
Vice President, Marketing
Office: 330-643-5532
Cell: 330-701-8080

September 20, 2007

UNITED WAY OF SUMMIT COUNTY KICKS OFF 2007 CAMPAIGN, ANNOUNCES GOAL

(AKRON, OH) – The United Way of Summit County and the organization’s 2007 volunteer campaign chair Thomas J. Strauss, have kicked off the campaign with a series of events and announced that the 2007 is $11,372,000, an increase of more than $200,000 over the total raised in 2006.

The first campaign kick off event was the Knight Breakfast in August, featuring Cleveland Indians legend and local businessman Andre Thornton. The two-day ‘Chickenfest’ event in Barberton kicked off the campaign in southern Summit County. United Way’s annual ‘Corporate Basketball Skills Competition’ was held this week at Cascade Plaza in Akron. The City of Akron and Downtown Akron Partnership provided more than 500 free hot dogs, chips and drink lunches during the basketball event. CYO & Community Services helped coordinate the competition.

United Way strives to ensure proper stewardship of the money donors have chosen to invest in our community through the United Way/Red Cross annual campaign. There are currently 101 programs at 49 affiliated agencies receiving funding through the United Way’s community investment process. Those programs are improving lives in Summit County in one of these four impact areas: Attaining Independence, Improving Health & Wellness, Reinforcing our Basic Needs and Building Successful Children & Families.

Bob Kulinski, president of United Way of Summit County said, "United Way occupies a unique position as the catalyst for determining and addressing community health and social service needs through a single broad-based community fundraising campaign. Working with scores of committed community volunteers led by Tom Strauss, we’ve established a plan to help us reach our goal this year, and for years to come. That plan includes focusing on new account development, a greater emphasis on leadership giving, and an increase in the size of the average gift. We will make every effort to reach this ambitious goal because we know how important these funds are for the individuals and families who are helped by those organizations we fund.”

United Way of Summit County improves lives by mobilizing community assets for health and human services. For more information, call 330-762-7601, visit our website at www.uwsummit.org, or write to us at United Way of Summit County, 90 N. Prospect St., P.O. Box 1260, Akron, Ohio 44309-1260.